


The Spell of the Sky

by Ethereal_Deity



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Attempt at Humor, BAMF Sawada Tsunayoshi, Espionage, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, M/M, More characters to be added, Mystery, NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS, Not really a mystery but the story is slowly unraveled, Summary Might Change, Swearing, lol it all might change, title might change, tw guns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:22:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21652942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ethereal_Deity/pseuds/Ethereal_Deity
Summary: Tsuna is confused. Reborn isn't who everyone thinks. The world is vast but it sure doesn't feel like it.
Relationships: Reborn & Sawada Tsunayoshi
Comments: 17
Kudos: 67





	1. Prelude: Part I

“Mr. Reborn?” Tsuna called out into the empty hallway lined with doors. 

He was spending a semester studying abroad at _Università di Roland_ \- an Italian university. The fortunate scholarship unfortunately required him to take a fairly intensive math course. It made sense, given that Roland was known for their degrees in mathematics, but why a creative writing major needed to take one? Tsuna would never know.

Regardless, here he was, passing the class comfortably enough. Today, he’d been a little confused about one of the theorems discussed and since his professor wasn’t available, Tsuna made his way to the teaching assistant- Reborn.

Tsuna was 90% sure that wasn’t a real name but it was what Reborn told the students to call him and Professor didn’t correct him. Reborn was also a student, except he was in graduate school for…something mathy. Tsuna didn’t feel the need to commit it to memory but Professor had said that Reborn needed to spend two semesters as a TA for his program.

He pushed those thoughts away in favor of focusing on locating the man. Roland had a plethora of programs that required TAs, and each department therefore had a hallway of offices for the people that rotated in and out. Reborn’s office was therefore in the Mathematics’ building and, hopefully, so was he.

Tsuna walked past all the closed doors with temporary nameplates, searching for the only one he’d recognize. When he found it, his shoulders sagged at the door’s blinds that were pulled closed. He couldn’t tell if the room was occupied or not, so he opted to knock. 

Tsuna waited a moment, but there was no reply. Trying the doorknob, he found it was open. 

The room was little more than a closet, containing only a desk and chair, a chair for visitors, and a small bookshelf. Luckily enough for Reborn, this room had a small window that made the room feel just a bit bigger. The light in the room was on, and Tsuna noticed an empty mug of something that smelled like coffee on the desk.

 _‘Someone’s been here…’_ Tsuna concluded.

He closed the door behind him and took a seat in the chair on the other side of the desk. He figured he’d just wait for Reborn to return and ask his question then.

A few minutes later Tsuna heard leisurely whistling as well as the tapping of what he’d come to associate with expensive Italian shoes. The whistling grew louder and Tsuna watched in anxiety as the doorknob turned. He wouldn’t deny that Reborn could be…intimidating, and he suddenly dreaded not waiting outside the room. His mother would be horrified by his lack of manners.

Reborn, in his typical white button-up and black slacks, entered his office still whistling in what could only be contentment. He held mug of something steaming and a newspaper, but the newspaper was tucked under his arm to open the door and he lightly kicked it closed behind him.

He set his items on the desk and sat down, adjusting his usual rectangular glasses as he did so. Reborn moved the empty mug to the side and looked prepped to open the newspaper and begin to read but-

“Um-” Tsuna began, trying to find the words to explain why he had infiltrated Reborn’s quarters. Lucky for him, he didn’t have to.

The second he spoke, Tsuna found his face smashed into the desk and the cold press of what could only be a _fucking gun_ against his head. Tsuna’s infamous screech was muffled and he felt the hand holding him down falter, just for a second.

After a few beats of unbearably tense silence, the weapon retreated and the hand lifted. 

“Tsunayoshi Sawada.” Reborn spoke calmly, and Tsuna rightfully flinched _hard_.

He slowly lifted his head, a _shaky to say the least_ smile on his face. 

“Please…call me Tsuna…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Strap in for the ride (⊙.☉)7


	2. Prelude: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The comments made me happy so here's another chapter (●´□`)♡

Reborn had an expression on his face that Tsuna found hard to describe. Or maybe it was just that his eyes kept darting back and forth between Reborn’s face and his gun, still pointed at him.

He was obviously _glaring_ from behind his glasses, but there seemed to be something else there too. If Tsuna wasn’t the one being held at gunpoint, he might’ve guessed that _he’d_ scared Reborn.

Slowly, very slowly, Tsuna leaned back into his chair and raised both of his hands in surrender. He could feel his nervous smile twitch as Reborn studied the action with extreme attention- as if Tsuna was the threat here.

“Why.” Reborn gritted out to him and it took Tsuna a moment to recognize that he _was_ talking to him.

 _‘Why?! Why what?!’_ The brunet screamed in his head but remembered his prior statement.

“W-Well, Tsunayoshi is just a mouthful a-and I-” He began but stopped with an _Eep!_ as Reborn stepped forward.

“No _\- idiot._ ” Reborn moved the gun forward and extended it outwards with perfect aim, biting out the insult.

If it was possible, the room got darker and so did Reborn’s glare. Tsuna gulped and tried to resist the urge to jot down what was happening for story ideas later.

“ _Why_ are you here? _How_ did you get in here?” The other man spoke, stepping forward on each word he emphasized.

Reborn rounded the desk until he was a foot away from Tsuna, a space which his gun happily filled.

“I- I- I- I- I-” Tsuna stuttered, internally cringing at the old habit’s revival. How was he supposed to think with that thing nearly pressing against his chest?!

_Click._

“Last chance, _Tsuna_ Sawada.” Reborn readjusted his grip on the weapon (Tsuna was begrudgingly happy at the name change).

The brunet’s gut flared in warning - he meant it.

 _“I just had a question!”_ He blurted out in Japanese, watching in horror as Reborn frowned at the unfamiliar language before slowly translating the words.

“A question…?” Reborn repeated in Italian.

“Y-Yes, just a question.” Tsuna joined him in Italian, re-gathering his bearings.

“I- I didn’t understand what we talked about in class today, a-and Professor wasn’t having her office hours today so I t-thought I’d stop by your office- but you weren’t here so I was going to wait for you to come b-back…And n-now you’re back…” Tsuna nearly whispered, begging himself to not soil the chair and then actually _want_ Reborn to kill him.

Reborn seemed to consider this, tilting his head ever so slightly, but the bounce of his sideburns gave it away.

“You broke into my office for that.”

Tsuna had the audacity to look offended.

“The door wasn’t even locked; I’d hardly say I bro-”

In the blink of an eye, Reborn put his weapon away _somewhere_ and went to take a seat at the desk across from Tsuna. He sipped at his drink agonizingly slowly and cleared his throat after a few drinks.

“Well, Mr. Sawada, what’s your question?”

There was actually a fairly simple solution. Well, for Reborn anyways. Not so much for Tsuna, but the brunet had more incentive once Reborn had taken to swatting him with the newspaper when he was wrong.

When all was said and done, Tsuna wanted to dart out of the room as fast as humanly possible, but Reborn was seated in front of the door.

“W-Well, thank you for your help Mr. Reborn. I- I’ll be going now.” Tsuna said meekly but didn’t move.

Neither did Reborn. Instead, he intertwined his fingers and covered his mouth with them, resting his elbows on the desk. He was only watching the other man, but Tsuna could confidently say he more so felt he was being ogled. Tsuna watched Reborn’s eyes search around his face before trailing down his neck and around his chest. He resisted the urge to look down as well.

“I’ll be in contact, soon. You understand.”

Tsuna did not understand, but he knew that was his out and dear _God_ he was going to take it. He made a b-line out of the room, and decidedly ignored the amused chuckle he heard behind him.


	3. Prelude: Part III

True to Reborn’s word, Tsuna knew that yesterday would not be the last time he saw that side of the man ( _Far from it_ , his gut whispered). He did not know, however, that by ‘soon’ Reborn meant that night at 3 am.

“Bwuh?” Tsuna answered the door with some mangled form of Italian and Japanese and sleep-deprivation.

He had already had a near restless night of trying to pretend reality wasn’t what it was. Just when he had halfway convinced himself and managed to fall asleep, he received a sharp knock at his door. For his semester here, Tsuna was staying in a dorm on Roland’s campus. He assumed it was someone who probably had the wrong door and thought he’d let them figure that one out alone. The insistence that the next knocks held, said otherwise.

That led to the current predicament.

Reborn, in an _unbelievably_ sharp suit and orange shirt, was standing in front of him, looking rather impatient. He also had a fedora on because, why not.

 _‘How did you get in here?’_ Tsuna wanted to ask with horrible irony. 

_‘Do you know what time it is!’_ Tsuna wanted to yell, but that’d be rude towards his hall-mates.

“Where are your glasses?” He said instead.

Reborn snorted and reached forward to drag Tsuna by the shirt. He brought them to the elevator, but, and Tsuna could only assume here, got impatient and walked them to the stairs. Tsuna’s steps clamored loudly in the echoing staircase, while Reborn’s were seemingly nonexistent. He was ever thankful that his gut suggested putting on shoes before answering the door.

“So, um.” Tsuna tried, noticing how Reborn continued down the stairs easily, as if he was familiar with the area.

They reached the ground floor and exited the building, covered by the night’s darkness. The two men walked along Roland’s paved pathways, occasionally passing by students who looked to be in desperate need of sleep.

Tsuna soon recognized that they were headed towards the gardens- a vividly lush area of campus that featured a tall hedge maze with a gazebo in the center. It was a perfectly secluded location that was ideal for dates or aimless wandering, Tsuna noted.

 _‘Or…’_ Tsuna’s mind wandered for only a few seconds before his eyes widened.

He came to an abrupt halt at his realization. Reborn was going to kill him! He didn’t want to die! Well, not yet at least- and especially not like this! Reborn turned around once he realized he was no longer being followed. He scowled at the fearful man. After a few agonizing seconds of staring-

“P-Please don’t kill me…” Tsuna whispered, hesitant to break the night’s tranquility.

He paled when Reborn only smirked and reached towards the interior of his suit jacket.

“Kill you, huh? Now there’s an idea…” Reborn muttered as if to himself before turning around, obviously expecting Tsuna to follow.

And he did.

-

As expected, Reborn brought Tsuna to the gazebo with startling ease.

The Italian looked around the wooden flooring momentarily before nodding to himself. He lifted up an unassuming hatch door and held it open for Tsuna, glaring when Tsuna only dropped his jaw and looked around wildly as if he wanted someone else to witness this madness.

“Get in- now.”

“…Okay...” Tsuna gave in and peered into the hole, happy to discover there was a ladder readily available. He was equally pleased with the cushion at the bottom, as it made his inevitable fall from the ladder much more tolerable. Reborn easily came down the ladder raising an eyebrow at the mess of limbs on the floor.

“You’re beyond hopeless, but I’ll make something of you yet.” He said and proceeded down the corridor.

Tsuna was hesitant to follow, but his gut hinted that even if he did manage to escape somehow, Reborn would hunt him down like an animal. He wisely followed.

They came upon a metal door and Reborn unlocked a series of locks that Tsuna didn’t bother to even pretend to memorize. The door unlocked and Reborn pushed it open to a…surprisingly nice apartment.

Tsuna heard Reborn close the door behind them and recognized mechanical sounds that signified the door sealing. The underground space resembled a studio apartment, with the kitchen, office, and living areas out in the open. A big bed was also present and a sub-room that Tsuna could assume was the bathroom.

Reborn patted on the couch before going to do something in the kitchen.

 _‘He lied he’s definitely going to kill me.’_ Tsuna’s heart was beating so loudly he was sure it was irritating Reborn.

_‘Why did I come here?! I literally came here willingly! I could’ve screamed for help at any moment- there’s plenty of security on campus!’_

Tsuna looked over his shoulder, just barely, and could see that the other was still in the kitchen- with his back turned even!

 _‘I could probably escape-’_ Tsuna thought but his gut hissed in rejection. Damn.

“I can practically feel your fear, you know.” A voice suddenly spoke next to Tsuna’s ear, pulling him from his thoughts and making him jump.

Reborn rounded the couch and sat on a smaller couch across from Tsuna, mug in hand.

“A-Any normal person would be scared in this situation! I don’t know w-what you plan to do with me...” Tsuna squeaked.

Reborn removed his fedora and laid it on the table alongside his cup. He crossed his arms.

“As fun as it is to tease you ( _Hey!)_ , why do you think you’re here right now?” Reborn asked.

Tsuna gulped loudly, opting to look at his feet.

“I…I think I saw something I wasn’t supposed to see. But I swear I haven’t told anyone anything! Honestly!” Tsuna insisted.

Reborn hummed. “And what exactly do you think about what happened- you call yourself a ‘normal person,’ but a normal person definitely wouldn’t have come here so willingly after that.”

Tsuna knew he wasn’t wrong. He wished, at times, that he could be more normal too.

“I don’t really know Italy’s gun laws, so…” Tsuna wiggled out of a real answer.

“I’m sure you know guns aren’t allowed on Roland’s campus.” Reborn retorted.

Tsuna tensed at that. It was true- he did know that.

“Well, I guess- maybe it was my fault for surprising you? I don’t know, Reborn, I wasn’t exactly in the mental state to psychoanalyze the situation at the time.” Tsuna snapped back, but internally pouted at Reborn’s expressionless face.

“That’s why I’m giving you the time _now._ ” Reborn glared.

Tsuna guessed that Reborn only used a blank face, smirked, and glared. His gut hummed in agreement.

“Think about what the news has been covering lately, the increase in police presence, more and more crime busts- _think._ ” He spat.

Still irritated, Tsuna thought some more. He didn’t even _watch_ the news but he remembered overhearing someone mention something strange once…but how would that relate to Reborn having a- Oh.

 _‘Oh’_ was written all over his face and Reborn smirked at that.

“Well?” He demanded an answer.

Tsuna shifted uncomfortably but managed to summon the courage to look Reborn in his eyes.

“You’re mafia.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting somewhere I promise- sorry if Reborn is a little OOC... ( ⚆ _ ⚆ )  
> There's not any romantic elements yet so everyone's still tense and wary afbsdfhg If you pick up on anything it's just my inability to control my self (ーー;)


	4. Prelude: Final

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> akcjsdxnjc this ended up being longer than I expected but it's ok because there were some loose-ish ends to wrap up

Reborn’s face hardly moved but Tsuna knew he found his conclusion acceptable. The man even had the nerve to take a sip of his drink before answering. If only Tsuna’s mom could see the other- drinking coffee this late at night, good God she’d have a fit-

“Close.” Reborn said but seemed to reflect on that response before shrugging.

“Close enough. I’ve been hired by a family to perform an investigation of sorts, here at Roland. You’re going to help me.”

“No I’m not.” Tsuna scrunched up his nose in disgust. Then reality caught up with him.

He put his hands up in surrender. “W-Wait! I didn’t mean to s-say that! It just came out on its own!”

_‘But I really don’t want to help! I don’t want to be a criminal!’_

Reborn only huffed and shifted his posture to look a bit more…familiar? He reached into his jacket’s pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses, then put them on.

“But you see Mr. Sawada,” Reborn began _very scarily_ to sound like the normal( _?_ ) teaching assistant Reborn. He reached within his jacket and pulled out a few papers. He set the papers on the desk.

“I agreed to tutor you in my Tuesday&Thursday 306 class, remember?”

The man turned the paper stack around to face Tsuna and Tsuna was faced with a tutoring request form with _his_ signature on it- shaky hand and all.

“W-W-Wait a minute!” Tsuna’s eyes bulged out of his head as he swiped up the document. Reborn continued.

“I’d also like to remind you that cancellation is an option at anytime. However,”

Reborn pushed the next paper in the stack towards Tsuna.

“Based on how the class has been going for you so far, I think it would be in your best interest to continue forward with me as your tutor.”

Tsuna’s jaw dropped in a _not fucking funny at all_ way at the next paper. It was a record of his grades in the class for this semester, but all the scores on the assignments thus far has been dropped twenty to thirty points. As far as anyone who saw this was concerned, Tsuna barely had a C-.

“How did you-!”

“And while I understand the legalities around discussing financial situations, I would hate for you to lose your scholarship, Tsunayoshi.” Reborn made a ( _fake)_ sympathetic face as he handed Tsuna a printout of said scholarship’s GPA requirements, which, if one calculated in Tsuna’s new _(fake!)_ records- he didn’t meet.

“I-?! But-?! How-?!” Tsuna pulled at his hair and looked at the papers in distress.

“I can keep going Tsuna.” Reborn (sounding more like his _insane_ self) gestured to the still thick stack of paper. He removed his glasses and sat back in the chair, re-crossing his arms with a greedy smirk.

Tsuna let the papers he held fall to the ground, only to meet Reborn’s gaze. Tsuna covered his face with his hands and leaned back into the comfy, he begrudgingly admitted, couch.

A few beats of silence passed, with Tsuna trying to, not for the first time, process _how_ this was his life.

“I have… _no_ idea what I could possibly do to help you, but-” Tsuna removed his hands and looked towards Reborn, mustering up the best glare he could.

“Whatever I do, I don’t want my family to get involved. _At all_.”

Reborn scoffed, seemingly at the notion. “Don’t worry princess, I won’t send you out to kill the Italian President just yet.”

He gathered the papers off the table and put them _who knows where_ and stood up.

“C-Can I go now?” Tsuna squeaked out, watching the man take his mug over to the kitchen.

“No, why?” Reborn called over his shoulder, washing out the cup.

“I’ve already seen your schedule- you’re not busy tomorrow. You’ll stay here with me and we’ll begin tomorrow.”

“Oh…”

-

Thankfully, Reborn surrendered the bed to Tsuna and he slept on the couch. Tsuna had been worried about the awkwardness of the silence as they both fell asleep, but he only remembered laying down and immediately falling unconscious.

Now, hours later, Tsuna sat at the kitchen counter slowly picking at the eggs and bacon he’d made while Reborn sat beside him nursing a cup of whatever coffee he was _addicted_ to.

“This,” Reborn slid him a manila folder. “Is a condensed version of my assignment. This is the essential information you’ll need to know.”

“Gee, thanks.” Tsuna muttered dryly, receiving a not at all gentle punch to the shoulder _(Ow!)_. He opened up the folder and promptly _threw_ it back onto the counter.

“That’s Professor!” He yelled, pointing a finger at the attached picture.

It _was_ Professor. Instead of her usual short black hair, the surveillance-looking picture showed her with long red hair. She was walking, more like cuddling, with a man quite a bit shorter than her- almost like they were on a date.

“Obviously. You think I wake up for an 8:00am class twice a week for fun?”

“What could Professor have possibly done?!” Tsuna screeched in protest.

“If you’d _read_ ,” Reborn pulled out a gun and placed it on the counter between them. “You would know.”

Tsuna eyed the weapon as his stomach twisted. “G-Got it…”

Reborn hadn’t been lying when he said this was condensed- the document was barely an outline.

 **Target** – Philomène Ballesdens _(Tsuna had been struggling so badly with this name she_ begged _to just be called Professor)_

 **Location** – Western Roland, Italy

 **Target’s Frequent Whereabouts** :

  * _Università di Roland_
  * _Pub Pugnale Arancione_
  * _Edera di club_



Tsuna’s gut’s alert made him linger on the last listed place that Professor regularly went _(There was something_ very _strange about knowing your teacher’s clubbing habits)_.

“Club Ivy?” He said aloud, turning to Reborn.

“Smart boy.”

Tsuna frowned. “But that doesn’t tell me what she did- or what you _think_ she did? What’s wrong with going out a-and keeping some company?”

He couldn’t help but blush a bit.

“Keeping some company, aren’t you just precious.” Reborn chuckled as Tsuna’s blush deepened.

“Unfortunately for you, and for her, Professor Ballesdens owes someone _a lot_ of money. So does this man.” Reborn pointed to the short man Tsuna had noticed in the photo.

“By nature of the vastly different social circles these two are apart of, they shouldn’t know each other. Yet, these two, both with outstanding balances to the same family, have been meeting more and more frequently. I’m sure even you can figure out what that implies.”

Tsuna cocked his head in thought. “They’re eloping?”

_Thwack!_

“Okay! Okay! They’re…planning something bad, right? Well, bad for the family they owe?”

“It seems that way, but that doesn’t involve you. You’ll be of no use to me there. Instead,” Reborn pointed to the last item on the list of places.

“You and I will pay a visit to Club Ivy and observe their interactions. I believe that’s the main site of their negotiations.”

“You say ‘observe,’ but really you mean spy…” Tsuna muttered before realizing something.

“Hey, wait- why do I have to do this? Wouldn’t literally anyone else work? Couldn’t your bosses have given you a partner?”

Reborn seemed to contemplate whether he should dignify those questions with an answer. Luckily for Tsuna, he deemed them appropriate.

“To put it bluntly, you have a natural stealth that I want to abuse for my mission.”

“Oh wow, that was blunt.” Tsuna was nearly in awe at the frankness but Reborn continued nonetheless.

“At this location you’re expected to come with- what did you call it- _company_. I’ve had several partners accompany me to Ivy but they always draw too much attention. Whether they’re too good-looking, not good-looking enough, lack the proper manners or are _too_ proper – or simply lack any stealth. You, however, have an already rare necessary aspect.”

His words took a moment to click in Tsuna’s head.

“So, basically, you think I’m sneaky?” He summed up.

“Where’d you get that idea…?” Tsuna asked when Reborn only nodded.

The man glared from underneath his fedora and placed a hand over his weapon. “ _Think,_ Mr. Sawada.” _(Eep!)_

“Um…” Tsuna pursed his lips and tried to think of why Reborn wanted to use his…stealth. From what he could rationalize, it seemed like Reborn was just using him due to the convenience of Tsuna seeing him in possession _(and use)_ of a weapon.

_‘Wait-’_

“I scared you that time in your office! You really didn’t see me there!” Tsuna realized, smiling gleefully and point a finger at the other man.

_Thwack!_

“Alright! Alright! You were _caught off guard_. But still- what about the other stuff? I’m not exactly an, uh, refined person.” Tsuna was hesitant to ask.

“Well, I never said I’d only tutor you in math, did I?” Reborn asked, looking absolutely _sadistic_.

Tsuna paled at the foreshadowing. “But what about my schoolwork? I can’t exactly just drop everything for this.”

Reborn rolled his eyes at his concern. “Obviously. I already have a schedule in place to work with your classes and allotted study time. We’ll be hitting Ivy in close to two weeks, hopefully for the final time.”

Tsuna nodded slowly. “I just, I feel like there’s so much I don’t know. Like, what family employed you? What’s _your_ job if you’re not mafia? What happens if Professor _is_ planning something?”

Tsuna stared up at Reborn with big eyes, nervousness spilling off of him.

“The less you know the better. Knowing more than you can protect yourself against will only hurt you.” Reborn warned.

“Your involvement will begin and end at Club Ivy. No one should be able to connect you to the disguise you’ll be in, but all anyone would be able to conclude is that you went on a date to an exclusive club with another student from university- a normal occurrence. If we have to take it there, your scholarship helped your financials, but you still needed some money for spending- I offered to help as long as you help me with some things in return.”

“Ugh.” Tsuna scrunched his nose in disgust.

“What? You don’t want to ‘keep me company’?”

This time Tsuna rolled his eyes. “You can stop bringing that up, you know! It wasn’t that funny.”

“It was very innocent of you, now come on. Training starts now.”

-

Two weeks didn’t seem like enough time to flip Tsuna’s character 180°, and it wasn’t, so Reborn introduced a benefit of Tsuna’s foreigner status that he’d never considered.

No one assumed his Italian was as good as it is. Therefore, there were tons of instances where he wouldn’t be expected to give an eloquent response, or one at all. This did upset Tsuna some, but he had little control over other people’s perceptions of him. They agreed then, that Reborn would do most of the talking while Tsuna added where (they thought) he could.

_“So I’ll just be a pretty face?” Tsuna pouted._

_“Don’t flatter yourself.”_

_“Hey!”_

Tsuna spent the days leading up to their mission juggling etiquette training with schoolwork. It was hard to see Professor and Reborn the same during class, however. Tsuna would watch in dread when they had their side discussions in class, fearing that one of them was going to pull a gun on the other. Just the same, he would flinch a little _too_ hard when Professor called on him to answer a question, once starting so badly he fell out of his chair. Reborn chose later that day to beat a lesson on ‘subtlety’ into his head.

Reborn also trained him physically. Apparently being in _‘piss poor’_ shape wasn’t suitable for possibly having to flee or defend himself. When Tsuna brought up the issue of _‘How in shape can I get in two weeks?’_ well, the face Reborn made haunted him for nights.

Tsuna also expressed his concerns about Professor knowing who they were. Reborn revealed that, though he’d frequented Club Ivy many times, he was confident that Ballesdens had never seen him. He’d established himself as the Casanova-type, always bringing in someone different and went by ‘Sergio’. It won’t be odd, therefore, to bring one more.

_“But what about me?”_

_Reborn smirked. “Remember? You’ll be disguised, my dear Dante.”_

_That_ was how Tsuna was introduced to his…costume. The outfit itself wasn’t bad, it was actually quite nice, but it was the other elements that concerned him. A flouncy white button up shirt that would _definitely_ show some of his chest and black slacks. The mannequin also had on gold accents- a simple necklace, plain bracelet, and a single earring. On the adjacent table however, was a pack of black contacts and a long blond wig.

_“Who…is that for?” Tsuna pointed at the items._

_“Dante, obviously.”_

_“Ah…okay…”_

_Reborn slung an arm around Tsuna’s shoulders as he dropped his head low._

_“He’s a simple man, likes luxury but nothing superfluous.”_

_“I’m guessing blond is your type?” Tsuna muttered._

_“Don’t worry, I like brunets too.”_

_Tsuna stepped on his foot._

_Reborn pinched his arm-_ hard _._

-

The big day was tomorrow, and Tsuna had convinced Reborn to let him sleep in his dorm room. The apartment had felt more like a prison lately and Tsuna needed some time to breathe and think. He was supposed to meet up with Reborn tomorrow at six o’clock and they were due at Ivy at eight.

Tsuna had to admit though, the past two weeks had been, well- _fun_. He didn’t realize how lonely he’d been here in Italy until Reborn came along. His few friends were in Japan and between them having their own lives to navigate and the time difference, they didn’t get to talk much. Of course, Tsuna called his mother often, but that was about it. As much of a jerk Reborn was all the time, it was better than just going to class and then just coming right back home every day. And Tsuna would begrudgingly admit that he had begun to see some difference in his physical abilities.

The brunet went to sleep that night wondering if Reborn was going to stick around after his mission was finished, or simply vanish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright alright alright get hype for the first arc (⊙ꇴ⊙)
> 
> If anyone cares to know: I'm operating on a two-semester schedule. There's Fall (August/September - December) and Spring (January-May) semester. Right now, in this story, it's fall semester and you can imagine it's like mid-September,,,


	5. Ballesdens' Business: Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh I really really wanted to get this out before the new year,,, it's 9:26pm (EST) so I succeeded.  
> !! Please note the deliberate switches between Sergio and Reborn and Dante and Tsuna !!

Reborn’s antique Italian car roared under the gas pedal’s pressure. Tsuna only knew it was antique (and expensive) from Reborn’s reaction when he asked if it was a Toyota. They were soon to arrive at Club Ivy any minute now- both disguised well and knowing the roles they needed to play.

-

“Thank you, sir.” The valet bowed formally to Reborn as he whisked away the car to Tsuna didn’t know where.

Reborn linked their arms together, pinching Tsuna when he squeaked at the sudden motion.

“Don’t do that.” He spoke lowly for only Tsuna to hear and he nodded subtlety.

They _did_ do a bit of intimacy training that allowed Tsuna to get more comfortable touching and being touched by Reborn, but Tsuna still managed to be constantly caught off guard.

Tsuna’s ( _Dante’s,_ he begrudgingly thought) long blond hair was pulled back into a loose, low ponytail.

Tsuna was in the exact outfit that Reborn said he would be, while the man himself was only in black slacks with an open suit jacket and a white button up secured by a simple bolo tie.

They complimented each other well, Tsuna had to admit.

With their arms interlocked, Reborn guided them up the long staircase that Club Ivy sat atop. They fell in line behind other couples and groups that were also making their way up.

“We’ve already begun. _Play the part._ ” Reborn turned and whispered into his ear.

Tsuna stopped starring so star-stuck at his surroundings and nodded.

Right. Dante is on a date with Sergio. Tsuna remembered the detailed synopsis of Dante and Sergio’s relationship that Reborn made him read.

_Dante’s new in town and doesn’t speak much Italian, but he was fortunate enough to meet Sergio at a cafe. The two hit it off and Sergio wanted to take him by Club Ivy to meet some acquaintances, as well as have a fun night of drinking, dancing, etc.. Dante likes money as much as the next person, and has a good bit of it too, but isn’t big on flashing it around. Contrastingly, Sergio is all about excess luxuries. He’s witty and likes to tease, but when he sometimes takes it too far, Dante comes out of his shyness to scold him._

_‘Play the part.’_ Tsuna repeated in his head as they reached the top of the stairs and passed through the glass doors.

Immediately ahead of them looked to be a large ballroom where music could be heard from. They had stepped into a lobby, with a concierge of some sort at a counter to their right. Ahead were two long hallways going in opposite directions. One was labeled ‘East Wing,’ and the other ‘West Wing.’ Before he could take any other scenery in-

“Sergio, my friend! It’s been too long!” A loud accented voice rose above the crowd’s volume and the music playing in the background.

A huge man with red hair and a matching wooly beard thundered over to them.

Sergio smiled widely and Dante shyly grinned (Tsuna cringed).

“Lorcan.” Sergio put his hand out and it disappeared in Lorcan’s large grip as he shook it vigorously.

“It has been a while.” Sergio agreed.

“Aye, _too_ long- believe I said. Haven’t been able to escape the wife long enough to come visit friends down below.” Lorcan sighed and it was only then that Tsuna was able to pin his accent. Being in Italy while being from Japan, everyone seemed to have an Italian accent. Lorcan’s, however, was Irish.

“Well if you only had _friends_ down here she wouldn’t be so upset, old friend.” Sergio teased.

Lorcan only laughed, a booming noise that made several people turn around, and roughly clapped Sergio’s shoulder before noticing the other man present.

“And who’s this lad? The latest to catch your fancy?” Lorcan turned his attention to Dante.

“Ah,” Sergio turned to Dante as if just remembering he was there. He slid an arm around his waist and gently nudged him forward.

“This beauty is Dante.”

“H-Hello, nice to meet you.” Dante said unsurely with a small smile, slightly lowering his head to bow.

“Well aren’t you sweet; Say, when Sergio moves on to the next- how about a spin with me?” Lorcan chuckled and nudged Dante.

Dante laughed briefly, understanding there to be some sort of joke going on that he didn’t understand. Instead he looked up Sergio, who took the hint.

(Tsuna internally sighed. It was embarrassing to act like he didn’t know what was going on when he was over informed if _anything_.)

“He doesn’t speak much Italian- luckily in your case.” Sergio snorted.

“Besides, it’s not like you could take him from me anyways.” He grinned.

Lorcan smiled widely at the challenge. “Well that just makes it all the easier! We can throw social norms to the wind and go by nature!”

He stepped forward and grabbed one of Dante’s hands. Before he could place a kiss on it, Sergio punched him lazily in the shoulder, but still harsh enough to make Lorcan fumble backwards. Dante merely blushed.

“Come off it, you bastard. You can hardly keep up with all your affairs as is, last I heard. Know any Japanese?”

Lorcan blinked. “Hardly conversational.” He turned to Dante, who had merely been watching the events happen around him.

“ _Hello_.” He tried in Japanese.

Dante smiled warmly. “ _Hello. I’m afraid I’ll have to reject your advances.”_

Lorcan’s eyebrows furrowed and he turned to Sergio, who laughed out loud.

“He said- in two words- fuck off.”

Tsuna shoved his shoulder harshly into Sergio’s, forgetting that was not a Dante-like thing to do. Shit.

Luckily, Lorcan took it all in stride.

“Good looking man like himself, I’m not surprised he’s picky!” Lorcan gestured towards a room separate from the lobby.

“Now come you two! I’ve some friends I want you to meet!”

The next hour or so was spent socializing with what Tsuna could only think to call filthy rich people. Filthy in that it seemed everyone had a spouse (Or two. Or three.) to cheat on and rich with money to blow. His acquaintances took pleasure in offering Dante money, implying that Sergio didn’t have the funds to do so. If Sergio’s character hadn’t taken offense to it, Tsuna _and_ Dante would’ve left Ivy a few thousand euros richer.

Their group lounged over couches, occasionally flagging down servers with drinks and light desserts or appetizers on their platters. Dante and Tsuna met a multitude of people, many who were already familiar with Sergio. They inquired about Sergio’s trip to Ethiopia earlier this year, _swearing_ that he’d promised them all souvenirs and had only forgotten. Much of the conversation went over Dante’s head but he knew to laugh when he saw Sergio’s body language shifting towards annoyance.

There was one woman who was fluent in Japanese. Though all she had to say to Dante was that she liked Sergio’s partner from some months ago much better. Sergio chastised her, but neglected to disagree with her, making her grin and laugh for quite a while after.

Dante happened to look through the room’s archway and see…Ballesdens and her date come in through the door. Playtime was over.

He went to tap Sergio, who was engaged in a conversation about some French delicacy actually being _disgusting_ , but Sergio squeezed Dante’s hand, ensuring that he was aware they’d arrived.

He gracefully exited the conversation and pulled Dante aside.

“ _You need to get in that line behind them. They’re going to rent a room in the East wing- always do. You just need to listen for which one.”_ Reborn said.

Sergio idly played with Dante’s ponytail as he spoke in Japanese.

“ _What?!”_ Tsuna shout-whispered. “ _She’s going to see me!”_

Dante straightened out Sergio’s tie.

“No, _she won’t. Remember what we talked about? You have your stealth and you need to use it. As long as you don’t_ want _to be seen, you won’t be._ _Now go before we lose our chance._ ”

Sergio gave Dante a peck on the forehead before turning away to return to his acquaintance’s conversation, signaling to Tsuna that this discussion was over.

“ _Oh, fuck me…”_ Tsuna whispered before putting on a happy face and slinking over to the line behind Ballesdens.

“We’ll be wanting a room in the East wing for the evening.” Ballesdens spoke easily beside Amico Di Santis, the same man from the photograph. Reborn had informed him of his name.

“Yes ma’am.” The employee opened a cabinet to their left and pulled out a set of keys, placing them right into Ballesdens’ palm.

“These keys will open room E23. Would you like an escort to this location?” The worker asked.

Santis snorted. “Not necessary.”

“I’ll also be storing my coat.” Ballesdens eased off her brown fur coat, with Santis giving his assistance.

“Of course, ma’am.” The man held the coat gently in his arms and bowed lightly.

The two walked off, but not before Ballesdens suddenly turned around, her black wig falling over her shoulder at the motion.

Tsuna tried not to tense, he really did.

Their eyes met…and she turned back, heels clicking away.

Tsuna sighed heavily and resisted shivering as he moved up to the counter.

The employee returned from storing the coat, and sighed deeply, murmuring something under their breath.

They looked up at Dante, or rather _towards_ him, but the employee doesn’t really seem to see him until after a few seconds.

“Oh!” He jumped in presumable surprise.

“Please excuse me sir- h-how can I be of assistance?”

Before Dante could stutter out an answer, Sergio slipped an arm around his waist. Again.

“We’d like to rent a room in the East wing.” He requested with a mischievous smile.

“Absolutely, sir.” The man opened the same cabinet as last time.

“What room will you be wanting, love?” Sergio asked Dante.

Tsuna got the hint. _Barely_ , he might add.

“E-E22.” Dante smiled shyly.

“I understand.” The employee put back the original set of keys he’d pulled out and searched for room E22’s key.

“Here you are. Would you like an escort to the room?”

Sergio spoke. “That won’t be needed- unless you want to join us.”

He winked and the worker blushed deeply but declined his offer.

Tsuna rolled his eyes and lightly pushed Sergio along.

-

The room was too big for just two people, but Tsuna supposed that was what they did here. There was a large bed that Tsuna did _not_ want to think about. He supposed that these parties were rather long and people might want to take a nap, right? Right.

The platter full of condoms, dental dams, and lubricant, however, was doing a pretty good job of debunking his theory.

“How…did I do?” Tsuna asked, sitting down on the couch as Reborn inspected the room.

“Well enough.” Reborn looked to be feeling up the wall that E22 and E23 shared. Ballesdens’ room was right next door but wall the between the rooms was so thick that it didn’t matter.

“I was worried that Professor would recognize me.” Tsuna sighed and leaned back against the couch, closing his eyes.

Reborn huffed and turned away from the wall to grab a small bag from…somewhere off his body.

“Have you seen yourself? If she _had_ recognized you then you’d have a stalker on your hands.”

Tsuna’s eyes shot open at that. He stood and went to look in the mirror.

“That’s right, I _do_ look a lot different.” He touched his blond hair and looked at his black eyes, still not as dark as Reborn’s.

He smiled weakly, turning from the mirror and murmuring. “I look nothing like me…no wonder people were interested.”

Reborn paused in laying out tools and looked up at Tsuna with raised eyebrow.

“I guarantee that has nothing to do with Dante.”

He continued inspecting the small tools.

“H-huh?” Tsuna was genuinely surprised.

“You’re not bad looking, and people obviously see that and act on it. Not to mention you’re extremely agreeable. I have no doubt that Lorcan would love to drag you into one of these rooms and have his way with you.”

Reborn tested one of the tools before squatting and using it against the wall. It made a quiet buzzing noise but was otherwise unnoticeable.

“Oh, uh…I thought he was joking.” Tsuna hovered over Reborn and watched was he was doing.

He seemed to be drilling a tiny hole, with the drill penetrating deep into the wall.

“He wasn’t. But I don’t think you want any of those people interested in you. Tonight alone, you’ve spoken with two human traffickers, a drug lord, and two- no three- kidnappers. Not quite sure what they do with them. I’ll let you guess who’s who.”

Reborn’s drill beeped and he removed it from the wall, leaving a long tunnel in its place. He reached for a different tool.

“Lorcan is…” Tsuna thought. He didn’t _seem_ like a bad guy- in fact Tsuna quite liked him. He was funny and had a certain charm that easily got through one’s defenses. He-

Tsuna’s eyes widened. “ _Oh, god.”_ He muttered in Japanese.

Reborn looked up and smirked at him.

“He wasn’t interested in how you’d be in bed for no reason.”

Tsuna _smacked_ his palms against his face.

“ _How_ is this my life?!”

Reborn huffed. “Shut up, you can have an existential crisis later.”

Tsuna moved his hands off his face and peered closer at what Reborn was doing.

“What’s that?” He asked.

Reborn was sticking a long wire with a fuzzy top into the hole. The end of the wire looked to be connected to some sort of speaker.

“It’s a microphone. I’ve hollowed out the wall so that we can listen in. This device,” Reborn nudged the box at the end of the wire.

“Will serve as both a speaker and a recorder. The best way to prove Ballesdens’ treason would be for the family to hear it from her personally.”

Reborn smirked and chuckled darkly.

Tsuna wisely stepped away.

“You…really like what you do, don’t you?” He asked cautiously, chuckling along with Reborn.

Reborn stilled and turned around to look him in his eyes.

“Oh, you have no idea.”

Then he simply went back to inserting the wire as if he hadn’t just scared _the piss_ out of Tsuna.

Soon a muffled sound began to come from the speaker.

“Just a bit more…” Reborn muttered to himself.

The sound cleared up and Ballesdens’ voice became easy to make out.

“Press the blue button and turn the red knob until we can hear perfectly.” Reborn said as he continued to adjust the microphone’s placement.

Tsuna did as he was told. A counter began when he pressed the button, and Santis’ voice filled the room as he adjusted the volume.

Reborn quickly grabbed a notepad from his line up of tools and began to transcribe the conversation.

“See that small red box on the table?” Reborn asked as Tsuna watched him flawlessly write the conversation. He nodded; It was pretty hard to miss.

“Press the black button on it.”

Tsuna did so and found that this device also began a timer.

“Ah I see,” Tsuna voiced aloud. “In case the main recorder fails, you have a back up. And in case they both fail, you have it written down.”

“Yes, congratulations, now _shut up_.”

The two tuned fully into Santis and Ballesdens’ conversation.

-

“Philomène, you can’t simply overthrow the Pasqua as easily as you _think_. I should now, given how they’re riding my ass about my debt to them!” Santis complained.

“You think you’re the only one?! I’ve seen men on corners Amico- _armed_ men. It’s only thanks to my efforts that we’re both even still _alive_.” Ballesdens shout-whispered.

“Your efforts?”

Ballesdens huffed and from the creaking, she must’ve sat on the bed.

“Never mind that…I have this all sorted out…why won’t you trust me? I only need you to say ‘Yes’ and we can start an empire of our own. Don’t you love me? Didn’t you say you’d do anything for me?”

Another creek. Santis must’ve sat down beside her.

“Oh, you know I would baby…but I don’t want it to be us against the whole world. We’ve already got Pasqua coming after us for debt. Once they realize we plan to use the money to create our own family, it’ll only be a matter of time before they have their allies join the hunt. Besides, honey, we’ll be needing more than two people to get started.”

Ballesdens snorted. “Do you think I’m an idiot? I already have a detailed plan with over 300 members _from_ Pasqua ready to rise at my- at _our_ command. I just need you…”

Ballesdens paused.

“To say that you’re in this. _Really_ in this, Amico.”

“ _300_? And where exactly is this plan? I haven’t seen it.”

Ballesdens huffed and it sounded like she stood up.

“Yes, because I carry around my plan on my person at all times. Yes, dearest Amico, I have all the papers shoved into my little pocket for safekeeping.”

“Aw, Philomène, don’t be that way…”

Another sigh from Ballesdens. “No, Amico you haven’t seen it. The plan, as well as the list of members, is on a flash drive stored in my coat. It’s one of many and is password protected.”

“Ah! You’re brilliant Philomène!”

A _kiss_ sound was heard.

-

“Her coat…?” Reborn questioned aloud as he rapidly wrote.

“Oh, I remember she turned it into the front desk earlier.” Tsuna commented.

“You’ll have to go get it them. That’s damning evidence and will be useful.”

Tsuna blinked.

“And how do you suppose I do _that_? Walk up there and just ask for someone else’s coat?” He asked incredulously.

“Precisely.” Reborn replied curtly.

“W-Why do I have to do this?” Tsuna asked once he realized Reborn was serious.

“Would you rather do _this_?” Reborn gestured to his writing with his free hand.

“And you may be good at speaking Italian, but I know you couldn’t possibly write it as quickly as you’ll need to, nor could you properly relay the discussion to me in detail.”

Tsuna wanted to pout at that but resisted.

“And what makes you think I can go _steal_ something?” He asked.

Reborn only looked up and glared which was _terrifying_ because he was still writing.

Tsuna put his hands up in surrender with a huff. “Right, right- _stealth_ or whatever it is.”

“Go now, I’ll text your phone if there is an emergency.”

“How did you get my- ugh, whatever.” Tsuna went to the mirrors and fixed up Dante’s hair, making small adjustments.

“Well…I guess I’ll be back.” Tsuna said to Reborn, who only nodded, before exiting the room.

-

 _I’m going to get caught and die. Reborn has sent me to my death._ Tsuna thought as he walked down the corridor. Luckily, it wasn’t too confusing a walk back to the lobby.

As he didn’t expect, no one really paid him any attention. Couples whispered to one another, probably caught up in their own world, but servers and single guests didn’t even so much as glance at him. Maybe Reborn had been right all along about his natural stealth, but if Tsuna had to guess- it wasn’t natural at all. His stealth definitely came from-

“Oh,” Tsuna interrupted his own thoughts as he approached the lobby area.

A door labeled ‘Employees Only Please’ came up on his left. There weren’t many people about, most likely having retired to a room or enjoying themselves in the main ballrooms or bars.

Tsuna gulped and pushed the door open, glad it wasn’t locked. Past that door, he entered a square room with a door on each side, including the one he’d just come from. To his right, the door was labeled ‘Front Desk’ and in front of him the door said, ‘Coat Storage.’ The door to Tsuna’s left was unlabeled and was immediately deemed none of his business.

He tried the doorknob to the ‘Coat Storage’ room, but with no luck. It was probably the case that the worker manning the front desk had the key.

 _How am I supposed to get in there?!_ He thought, but a voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“Hey!”

-

Reborn’s hand was beginning to cramp but he continued to rapidly write.

At the current moment the conversation had shifted to more details about the family they planned to create. Quite inessential details, such as what architectural style the main mansion will have, but still worth recording. When Pasqua got word of all of this mess, he and Leon will have a _field day_ together.

He thought he should check on Tsuna, as he seemed to be quite a troublemaker, but footsteps in the hallway caught Reborn’s attention.

He turned down the speaker’s volume as the footsteps came closer. They weren’t Tsuna’s hesitant steps, but instead were over-confident.

The steps passed Sergio and Dante’s room…but then stopped at Santis and Ballesdens’.

A knock sounded, and Santis and Ballesdens quieted.

 _“Did you order something?”_ Ballesdens was heard over the speaker.

 _“No, did you?”_ Santis responded.

_“Obviously not.”_

Ballesdens’ heels clicked on the floor as she, presumably, walked towards the door.

The door creaked open and a man greeted the people in the room.

Reborn tensed…He knew that voice.

It was the headmaster of the university.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mjknzzxamnk this was long but here we go,, leave a comment, inspire a writer,,,happy new year!


	6. Ballesdens' Business: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to come out months ago ●︿● Enjoy!

_Previously…_

_Tsuna gulped and pushed the door open, glad it wasn’t locked. Past that door, he entered a square room with a door on each side, including the one he’d just come from. To his right, the door was labeled ‘Front Desk’ and in front of him the door said, ‘Coat Storage.’ The door to Tsuna’s left was unlabeled and was immediately deemed none of his business._

_He tried the doorknob to the ‘Coat Storage’ room, but with no luck. It was probably the case that the worker manning the front desk had the key._

_How am I supposed to get in there?! He thought, but a voice pulled him from his thoughts._

_“Hey!”_

“What are you doing back here?” A man’s harsh voice suddenly called out, making Tsuna startle ( _Eep!_ ).

Damn his luck. If the Coat Storage door hadn’t been locked, he could have easily slipped in and out. Probably. Maybe.

_‘…’_

Reborn was going to kill him.

“I…” Tsuna began as he turned around.

The man was obviously an employee- neat hair with a black vest and dress shirt on over slacks. Tsuna, however, was obviously _not_.

Recognition flashed across the man’s face as Tsuna turned around and his demeanor shifted entirely.

“Oh! I’m sorry Sir, how can I help you? I didn’t realize you were a guest…this area is typically only for employees.” He bowed lightly.

It took Tsuna admittedly too long to remember that he didn’t _look_ like himself. Dressed in elegant jewelry and expensive clothes, it wasn’t really a wonder that the man changed his approach.

“R-Right…” Tsuna cleared his throat, trying to sound more sure of himself (Emphasis on _trying_ ).

“I wanted to retrieve my coat and I informed an employee of such, but I was told to wait back here and haven’t received any more assistance.” He made sure to sound annoyed, adding an eye roll for good measure.

The man held a confused expression, and Tsuna figured that this place usually ran like a well-oiled machine and such a situation was unheard of. Oh well, this was his best shot.

“I’ve been waiting for a very long time.” He added when he could practically feel the man’s disbelief.

That seemed to snap him out of his better judgment, and he recalled the fact that he may be dealing with someone heaps and bounds above him on the social ladder.

“I’m so sorry for the inconvenience, Sir…I’ll go get the key now so that you can continue on with your evening.” The worker bowed lightly again and went through the door labeled ‘Front Desk.’

Tsuna definitely heard a clear _slap!_ before he returned, shaking his hand lightly and muttering something, but most importantly with keys in tow.

 _‘Sorry person…’_ Tsuna thought with a mental cringe at how people were treated here. But at the same time, with the high-profile figures lingering around, they obviously couldn’t afford to make mistakes. Neither could he.

As he inserted the key into the door, he turned back to Tsuna. “Can you please describe your coat?”

It was a blessing in disguise, really, that Reborn had sent him to eavesdrop on Professor and her date because otherwise he would’ve had no idea what to tell the man.

Tsuna masked scanning his memory with a drawn-out sigh.

“It’s a short, brown one. _Mink._ Black stripes going down it.” He said confidently, praying that there was only one.

“Understood, thank you.” The man disappeared into the large closet- no, _room_.

The next few seconds were anxiety-inducing. If the man returned asking for more detail, well, he might just have to try to go in himself.

“Here you are, Sir. Again, I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” The man offered the coat to Tsuna, dramatically holding it laid across both his arms.

“Thank you.” He said curtly, snatching the coat before the other man could become suspicious.

Tsuna exited the little corridor and leaned against the wall in the adjacent hallway.

1…

2…

3…

4…

He exhaled, sure that the man wasn’t following him out.

 _‘At least some of Reborn’s tips were useful.’_ He thought begrudgingly.

 _‘Right.’_ Tsuna remembered why he’d even gone through the hassle of getting the coat. He checked the left pocket first with no luck, then the right…no flash drive.

“Shit.” He cursed. Had Professor known they were listening? Was she trying to throw them off?

Right on the cusp of a panic attack, Tsuna noticed a seam on the coat’s interior that wasn’t consistent with the rest. Picking at it…a flash drive fell out into his palm.

At least, that’s what it must’ve been. It was the tiniest thing, yet a freaking _mafia family_ was looking for it.

With a sigh, Tsuna pocketed it, and draped the coat over a nearby trash bin.

He turned on his heels to head back to the room, but a large grip caught his wrist.

“Dante! _Mon amour_! Come- Someone wants to dance with you!”

Lorcan was already dragging Tsuna before he’d even fully turned around. The man was also considerably drunk to be speaking French to someone who, as far as he knows, barely speaks _Italian_.

“E-eh?” Dante squeaked out and Tsuna hated having to play the meek and mild card.

Lorcan brought him to a large room with serene classical music that surely didn’t match the attendee’s careers and personalities. Dante (and Tsuna) were suddenly thrust into the arms of a vaguely familiar face- probably one of the many Sergio had introduced to him.

 _“I’ve found you my dear, I was searching all over for you.”_ He murmured in Dante’s ear and Tsuna recognized the language as French. Well at least he knew where Lorcan had gotten it from.

 _“What’s wrong? Did Sergio already find another partner for the night?”_ The same woman who disliked him from before asked in Japanese, chuckling when he could only blush in what looked like shame.

“Never-mind him,” The man whose name Tsuna _still_ didn’t remember wrapped an arm around Dante’s waist and interlocked their fingers on one hand held high. “I’ll take care of you tonight.”

Dante ( _‘The meek bastard’_ Tsuna begrudgingly thought) only smiled shyly and nodded.

“Sergio will be too late in realizing his mistake of leaving you alone.”

-

_The door creaked open and a man greeted the people in the room._

_Reborn tensed…He knew that voice._

_It was the headmaster of the university._

_‘Shit.’_ Reborn swore as he too late remembered reading from his assignment that the headmaster of Roland was Pasqua, a fact that only now was revealing its relevance as the pieces slowly connected.

Eliano Nuti.

43 years old. Involved with the Pasqua since 14. Taken in after the death of his parents from a rival gang’s actions. It was awfully noble of them, but Reborn could see that it was a mistake. Adopted mafia members above the age of 9 were a risk- knew too much of another life.

He’d thought the headmaster was just a figure- another threat to Ballesdens. But maybe he’d had his own agenda all along.

The distinct sound of people pulling out guns and readying them was heard across the speaker.

 _“What are you **doing** here?” _Ballesdens grit out and Reborn could hear the man’s faintly nervous chuckle. He wasn’t fazed.

 _“Eliano?!”_ Santis spoke.

There’s a pause and Reborn takes the time to think. He’s missing something- how does Santis know the headmaster? Well enough to address him by first name?

Reborn swears. The longer this continues, the shittier it gets. Too many unknowns.

 _“Well?”_ Ballesdens asks again.

A floorboard creaks, Nuti, the headmaster taking a step forward.

 _“Philomène…I come in peace. I want to right my wrongs.”_ He says, ignoring Ballesdens’ scoff.

 _“What the hell’s going on Eliano?”_ Santis interrupts but goes unanswered.

 _“I want to try again. I’ll do right by you this time. We can overthrow the Pasqua and start a new Family with you as the head and me at your side.”_ Nuti finishes in a tone that Reborn finds to be at best, optimistic, and at worst, delusional.

“Shit.” Reborn whispers to himself. The Pasqua had more holes than anybody knew.

 _“Wait- Wait a fucking minute.”_ Santis’ voice cut through the speaker again. _“She tried this before? W-With you?”_

A pause spoke volumes.

_“And you’re just going to sell out your own family!?”_

Reborn hears something like a snarl from Nuti.

_“Because you’re so **just** and **noble** to make off with your old friend’s ex-love, Amico.”_

_“S-so what the hell am I? Your backup? Couldn’t get the man himself so you got the next best thing?!”_ Santis yells, presumably to Ballesdens.

 _“My darling, Amico,”_ Ballesdens purs. _“You’re **far** from the next best thing.”_

Santis makes a noise like a whimper.

The picture is painted too slowly for Reborn. A stray line from the headmaster’s file comes to mind. Before his adoption, Nuti ran with a gang in Nothern Italy. The same region Santis is from…

 _“Much better to go straight to the source, right, my dear?”_ Nuti mistakenly joined in.

 _“ **No**.” _Ballesdens’ voice cuts like a knife. _“You were pathetic when I came to you and you still are. You’re **both** too pathetic to get anything done. I’m the only one in the room with a **fucking** brain and I intend to **use** it.”_

_“What are you saying, my love?”_

_“Don’t call me that you bastard, I-”_

Reborn tunes out lightly, devoting less energy to listening to the conversation in favor of planning his next move. This is all going to shit for them but he’s objectively okay. The Pasqua can deal with the results of his report however they want and he’s got more than enough evidence as it is.

Reborn takes out one of his many phones to text Tsuna. At this point the flash drive would be an added bonus on top of the recording. He shoots a quick text and goes to slip his phone back into the pocket but it buzzes before he can.

_Message not delivered._

Strange.

A quick glance around the screen reveals that he has no service.

He hastily takes out another device and upon turning it on, it emits a low but rapid beep, angrily flashing red.

“ _Shit_.” He grits and deconstructs the recording set-up, preparing to hunt down Tsuna and get out of here.

Someone’s activated a jammer. Something big is about to go down.

-

Dante is dipped for the third time and Tsuna thinks he might throw up- all the fancy hors d’oeuvres that’d been shoved in his mouth threatened to make an unwelcome reappearance.

The music drowned all his senses, but years of bullying gave him a pretty good poker face when confronted with unpleasant situations.

Unfortunately, the man knew Japanese, so he couldn’t pretend to not understand. As the last song and dance finished, the man pulled Tsuna close and murmured into his ear, pulling him away from the dance floor.

_“Shall we go somewhere more private?”_

He didn’t leave his partner much choice, walking them towards the front desk and requesting a room- what are the odds- in the East Wing.

Tsuna didn’t know if it was normal or if it was a mark against his character that the employee didn’t bat an eye at him being accompanied by a different man than he’d arrived with.

 _‘Shit. Shit. Shit.’_ He thought rapidly, unsure of how to get out of this situation as the man spoke about something or other. They walked down the East Wing corridor and Tsuna idly laughed at something the man said. He didn’t know if it was even appropriate to laugh but he was busy _panicking,_ okay?

He then recognized the room he and Reborn had rented coming up, momentarily wondering if he could convince his…“company” to go in there and well, maybe Reborn would figure it out from there.

Like an answered prayer, the door opened quickly and Reborn emerged.

He appeared genuinely startled for only a fraction of a second, looking back and forth between the two. He then easily dismissed the stranger and looked at Tsuna.

“We’re going. _Now_.” He barked out, grabbing Tsuna’s other arm much to the dismay of the man holding onto the other.

“ _You’re too late Reborn, he’s min-_ ” He begun in Italian.

Rapid gunshots and screams rung out down the hallway.

Tsuna screamed at the sudden noise and felt the strange man let go, Reborn’s grip only tightening.

His ‘date’ went running and Tsuna would’ve sighed in relief if he could ignore whatever just fucking _started_.

“No shit, we’re too late.” Reborn seemed to mumble mostly to himself.

“Get behind me.” He ordered and Tsuna followed.

Reborn took a step back and kicked open Ballesdens’ door, ignoring Tsuna’s abrupt shout and those inside- immediately shielding Tsuna once he saw the body on the floor.

Santis’s body lay motionless in the center of the room and Reborn hovered over his own concealed weapon when he saw Ballesdens’ gun still readied.

“W-What the hell are _you_ doing here?” She pointed the gun at the two men, moving it back and forth between them.

“Oh my- _fuck_.” Tsuna covered his mouth and repressed the urge to vomit.

“You and…” Ballesdens focused on Tsuna, eyes then widening. She turned to face the headmaster, her jaw going somewhat slack at her realization.

“Oh, so that’s how it is. That’s how it _fucking_ is, huh?” She swung the gun erratically to face the headmaster (bastard only put his hands up with a grin on his face).

“You all want to team up against me well **_fine_**. I don’t need any of you!”

Reborn took a step forward- a mistake. Ballesdens shot in his direction making Tsuna startle badly. Reborn barely blinked.

“It’s over Ballesdens. Nuti called the Pasqua to clear out the whole building. You’re not getting away alive- either of you.”

He could feel Tsuna trembling behind him.

“You’re lying.” Ballesdens eyed the headmaster warily, who only nodded too enthusiastically.

“You idiot- that’s basically suicide for the both of us!” Ballesdens lowered her weapon and grabbed Nuti by his collar. Reborn took the chance to raise his gun.

“Have you forgotten that you’re not as innocent in this as your precious family _thinks_?” Ballesdens snarled, looking more than ready to bite off his head.

The headmaster has the gall to _laugh_ in her face, a crazed look taking over and Reborn’s gut sent him a vicious warning.

“I love you, Philomène, and that’s the truest thing this world will ever know.” He gave her a gentle look.

“We were always meant to be together and…I know that I strayed from that a-and I’m so sorry but I’m ready now. I’m ready to be yours eternally and I know you’re ready to be mine.”

Ballesdens backed up from the man. “You’re insane.”

“I’m awake, now.”

“What the hell are you talking about.” Reborn’s voice reminded them that they weren’t alone.

“Philomène, I called the family here to witness our revelation. To prove to them that we need only each other as we leave behind this existence. They will find our bodies beneath the rubble but they will be empty- our souls gone to a better-”

“Rubble?” “ _Rubble_?!” Reborn and Ballesdens interrupted.

Nuti chuckled and reached within his coat, making both Reborn and Ballesdens raise their guns towards him. He put up one hand up to put them at ease.

“Don’t worry, there’s no need for firearms.” He pulled out a device. “Besides…”

Reborn felt Tsuna lean forward onto his back, trying to see it better.

There were numbers moving on it, and Reborn bit back a swear, choosing instead to grimace.

“If it’s firepower you want,” He continued.

The numbers were counting down: _9:34…9:33…9:32_

“Then it doesn’t get any better than this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it's not clear, Ballesdens incorrectly speculated that the headmaster, Reborn, and Tsuna had all been working together. 
> 
> Please wear a mask.


End file.
